Garment clasp



j w. s. PAINTER 2,251 800 Y GARMENT CLASP Filed March 21, 1940 33 [alvZ0 lb 23 ZZ Patented Aug. 5, 1941 GARMENT CLASP Walter S. Painter,Middlebury, Conn., assignor to The Waterbury Buckle Company, Waterbury,Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application March 21, 1940, SerialNo. 325,102

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in garment-clasps of the typedesigned and adapted to be suspended from a strap or the like, such forinstance as the strap of a suspender, and clasped upon a garment.

One of the objects cf the present invention is to provide a superiorgarment-clasp of the character referred to which is economical tomanufacture and rugged and reliable in use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a superiorgarment-clasp of the character referred to which will have a minimumtendency to tilt and thus become awkward and obtrusive in appearance,when the garment-clasp is suspended from a strap and is clasped upon agarment.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a superiorgarment-clasp of the character referred to which, to a maximum degree,is convenient to clasp upon and unclasp from a garment.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a superiorgarment-clasp in which the projection of the elements thereof isminimized when the clasp is opened for the reception of or the releaseof a garment.

With the above and other objects in view, as will appear to thoseskilled in the art from the present disclosure, Ithis invention includesall features in the said disclosure which are novel over -the prior artand which are not claimed in any separate application.

In the accompanying drawing, in which certain modes of carrying out thepresent invention are shown for illustrative purposes:

Fig. l is a view in front elevation of a garmentclasp embodying theIpresent invention;

Fig. 2 is a top or plan view thereof on a larger scale;

Fig. 3 is a view thereof in side elevation;

Fig. 4 is a view corresponding to Fig. 3 but showing the garment-claspas opened;

Fig. 5 is a view of the garment-clasp in vertical central-longitudinalsection;

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 6--6 of Fig. 3;

` Fig. 7 is a perspective View of the front jawmember detached, andviewing the same mainly from the front; and

Fig. 8 is a similar View but Viewing the front jaw-member mainly fromthe rear.

The embodiment of the present invention herein chosen for illustrationincludes a front jawmember I0 which may be conveniently stamped up fromsheet brass or other suitable material,

and includes opposite side-walls II and I2 projecting rearwardly andrespectively joining at their lower ends an integralrearwardly-projecting clamping-jaw I3.

Each of the rearwardly-projecting side-walls II and I2 of the frontjaw-member I0 is provided with one of two rearwardly-projectingperforated coupling-ears I4 and I5 for the purpose as will hereinafterappear. The upper portion of the front jaw-member IIJ is bent rearwardlyto provide a top-wall I6, above and on each of the respective oppositesides of which extends an integral rigid suspension-loop Il. The saidsuspension-loop is formed with a horizontal slotlike aperture I3 locatedinunediately below the horizontal suspension-bar I9 which constitutesthe upper terminal of the suspension-loop Il and the front jaw-member ofwhich it forms a part.

Immediately adjacent the junction of the front panel or main portion ofthe front jaw-member II) with the top-wall I6 thereof, a rectangularaperture 2% is provided. The material on each side of the aperture 20just referred to is forwardly upset to respectively provide one of tworearwardly-opening pintle-receiving sockets ZI and 22 for the purpose aswill hereinafter appear. The portion of the front jaw-member Illimmediately below the aperture 26 therein is pressed rearwardly toprovide a lever-receiving recess 23 extending vertically from the saidaperture 20 downwardly into intersecting relationship with the loweredge of the jaw-member I0, as is shown especially well in Fig. 7.

Arranged in opposition to the front jaw-member IU and coupled thereto ina manner as will hereinafter appear, is a rear jaw-member 24 which istransversely curved as is particularly well shown in Fig. 6, and whichis provided on each of its respective opposite sides with one of twoforwardly-projecting perforated couplingears 25 and 26 tting against therespective inner faces of the coupling-ears I4 and I5 of the frontjaw-member Ill. Extending through the coupling-ears I4 and I5 of thefront jaw-member I0 and also through the coupling-ears 25 and 26 of therear jaw-member 24 is a pivot-pin 2l suitably headed at its respectiveopposite ends to guard against its axial displacement.

At its upper end, the rear jaw-member 24 is provided with aforwardly-and-upwardly-curved portion 28 and at its lower end with aforwardlyprojecting clamping-jaw 29 adapted to be extended forwardlybeyond the rear edge of the complemental clamping-jaw I3 of the frontjawmember I0, as is especially well shown in Figs. 3 and 5.

Interposed and substantially housed between the respective front andrear jaw-members IU and 24, is an inverted U-shaped jaw-opening spring30 having its front-arm 3| pressing against the rear face of the frontjaw-member I and having its rear-arm 32 pressing against the forwardface of the -rear jaw-member 24. The points of application of pressureby the respec tive arms 3| and 32 of the jaw-opening spring 30 are atpoints below the pivot-pin 21 so that the said spring 30 exerts aconstant but yielding effort to spread or separate the lower ends of thesaid jaw-members lil and 24 and their respective clamping-jaws I3 and2S. Respectively seated in the pintle-receiving sockets 2| and 22 of thefront jaw-member are forwardly-facing pintle-portions 33 and 34respectively located on the opposite sides of a jawclosing levergenerally designated by the reference character 35. The said jaw-closinglever 35 is of inverted L-shaped form and has its pintleportions 33 and34 before referred to located immediately adjacent the point of junctureof its vertical finger-piece 36 and its rearwardlyprojecting cam-arm 31.The said cam-arm 31 is wider than the finger-piece 36 so that the saidpintle-portions 33 and 34 are constituted by front edges of thelaterally-projecting side-extensions of the said cam-arm. Thefinger-piece 36 of the jaw-closing lever 35 normally extends downwardlyfor being seated in the lever-receiving recess23 in the front face ofthe front jaw-mem-V ber l0 and for projection downwardly below the'lower edge of the said jaw-member. The camarm 31 ofthe jaw-closing lever35 extends rearwardly from the aperture 2li inthe said front jaw-memberlil and has camming engagement with the forward or inner face'of therear jaw-` member 24 adjacent the upper portion thereof. As beforeindicated, the garment-clasp herein shown and described is designed andadapted to be suspended by means of a strap such, for instance, as thesuspender-strap 38 indicated by vbroken lines in Fig. 3, as beingthreaded through the slot-like aperture I8 in the suspension-loop i1 ofthe front jaw-member I6.

After the garment-clasp has had its respective jaw-members I0 and 24clamped upon a garment such as the garment 39 indicated by broken" linesin Fig. 3 Yand when it is desired to release such garment, the releasemay be effected by engaging a finger with the rear face of theprojecting lower end of the finger-piece 36 of the jaw-closing lever 35and swinging the same forwardly" into the position indicated in Fig. 4.This movement of the jaw-closing leverv 35 will swing its cam-arm 31downwardly and thus permit the upper portion of the rear jaw' member 24to swing forwardly toward the rear face of the front jaw-member Vil)under the urge of the jaw-opening spring 33. As the upper portion of therear jaw-member swings as just described, the lower portion thereof,including the clamping-jaw 29, will swing rearwardly into thepositionindicated in Fig. 4 to thereby release the garment 39.

A garment maybe .clasped by swinging the finger-piece 36 of thejaw-closing Vlever. 35 rearwardly toward and into the lever-receivingrecess 23 in the front jaw-member l0 to thus swing the rear jaw-member24 in the opposite direction to engage its clamping-jaw 29 with agarment. During this operation the parts will have moved from thepositions in which they are shown in Fig. 4 to the positions in whichthey are shown particularly well in Fig. 3.

By providing the front jaw-member with a rigid suspension-loop andpivoting the jaw-closing lever 35 or other operating-member thereto, theopening-up of the said jaw-closing lever is not required to the extentwhich would be necessary were the same mounted upon the rear jawmember24.

By a construction and arrangement such as "is shown and described, thefront jaw-member l0 or its equivalent is constituted the main orbody-portion of the clasp with respect to which the jaw-closing lever 35and the rear jaw-member 24 respectively move in opposite directions andminimize the total depth of the garmentclasp when the same is open.

By means of a construction such as is shown and described, the upperportion of the garmentclasp has a minimum tendency to incline forwardlyunder load since it is the front jaw-member which is directly suspendedfrom a strap such as the strap 38.

The invention may be carried out in other specific ways than thoseherein set forth without departing from the spirit and essentialcharacteristics of the invention, and the present embodiments are,therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and notrestrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalencyrange of the appended claim are intended to be embraced therein.

I claim:

A garment-clasp comprising: a front jawmember having at its upper end arigid suspension-loop for its attachment to a strap and having aclamping-portion at its lower end, the said front jaw-member also havinga leverre ceiving aperture in its front face intermediate `its upper andlower ends and a depressed vertical lever-receiving recess also in itsfront face below the said aperture and extending uninterruptedly to andintersecting the lower end of the front jaw-member; a rear jaw-memberlocated to the rear of the front jaw-member and pivotally connectedthereto and having a clamping-portion at its lower end for collaborationwith the clamping-portion of the said frontjaw-member; and an'invertedL-shaped jaw-closing lever pivoted to the said front jaw-member andextending through the aperture therein and having a finger-pieceextending downwardly below the lower edge of the front jaw-member, thesaid nger-piece being swingable into and out of the lever-receivingrecess in the 'front face of the said front jaw-member, the saidjaw-closing lever operatively engaging the said rear jawmember and beingconstructed and arranged to force the said clamping-portion of the saidrear jaw-member forwardly toward the clampingportion of the said frontjaw-member as the lower end of the downwardly-extending fingerpiece ofthe said jaw-closing lever is forced rearwardly into the lever-receivingrecess in the front face of the said front jaw-member.

WALTER S. PAINTER.

